A Beginner’s Guide to Bordeaux

Bordeaux is one of the most prestigious wine regions in the world and arguably one of the most complicated. It is also a favorite of consumers and connoisseurs alike. Because of the vast area it covers, the diversity of its soils, its mix of climates and combinations of grape varieties, Bordeaux produces a varied range of wines – dry white, sweet white, red, rosé, claret and sparkling wines, as well as “cine Bordeaux,” a brandy made from distilled wine.

The uniqueness of Bordeaux wines comes from the FoPSOLFatHG ranNLng anG FOassLfiFatLon oI Lts Pany HstatHs (châteaux), which may be intimidating to the average wine drinker. Some of these châteaux are universally recognized: Margaux, vquem, Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, Haut Brion, Ausone.

65 percent of vineyard owners in Bordeaux bottle wines from their own grapes, and three quarters of all wine produced in the region comes from independent wineries. The rest ship their grapes to one of 53 “co-ops,” where their vintages are produced and bottled. Each year, on the average, the Bordeaux region produces about 850 million bottles of wine. under vine. Only Languedoc (South-Central crance), with 617,750 acres under vine, is larger. Located halfway between the North Pole and the equator, more vineyard land is planted in Bordeaux than in all of dermany, and ten times the amount planted in New wealand. The vineyards are located outside the boundaries of the city Bordeaux, which is situated at the same latitude level as Bangor, Maine.